Society Insider: Riverdale star KJ Apa goes public with new girlfriend

Earlier this month, they were in New York for the premiere of Apa’s romantic film, Falling.

Wilkins replied to Society Insider’s request for comment on her relationship with Apa, “I just love that beast,” she said.

Society Insider is told “beast” is a nickname they have for each other.

KJ Apa and Renée Wilkins at the Newport Beach Film Festival. Photo / @KJapa

Apa started on Shortland Street when he was 16. At 15, Wilkins signed with Clyne Models in Auckland. Her current New Zealand agency is Super Management.

While Apa went to Hollywood straight from high school to film his hit show Riverdale, Wilkins mixed an international modelling career with finishing a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Otago.

Renée Wilkins and KJ Apa before the Newport Beach Film Festival. Photo / @Rennefromtechsupport

Since graduating, Wilkins has made a name for herself on the New York modelling scene and moved in expat Kiwi music circles with friends Liam Finn, son of Neil Finn, and Indy Yelich-O’Connor, sister of Lorde – as well as Kiwi photographer James Lowe.

Wilkins is signed with Ford Models Los Angeles and regularly travels to Auckland, New York and Europe for work.

Renée Wilkins and KJ Apa in New York earlier this month. Photo / @Rennefromtechsupport.

She was a regular in New Zealand fashion magazines and at New Zealand Fashion Week, has filmed an LG TV commercial and starred in a Wrangler campaign. Last year, she starred in a campaign for Italian luxury lingerie brand Incanto, and last month featured in a campaign for Kiwi jeweller to the stars, Jessica McCormack.

It is understood the couple were both in Auckland in late July.

In Los Angeles, the pair are known to enjoy time in Santa Monica and Malibu and hang out with Apa’s circle, which includes John Owen Lowe, son of Hollywood star Rob Lowe.

Mr. Fantasy has taken TikTok and the music world by storm.

John Owen Lowe, also an actor, has reportedly been working behind the scenes with British singer Mr Fantasy – believed to be Apa, sporting a shaggy bob hairstyle, colourful outfits, and posting quirky Los Angeles vlogs, who debuted last year. Apa has never confirmed the connection.

Kelsey Hunter and Lily McManus in New Jersey earlier this year. Photo / @Kelseyhunter13

Meanwhile, Society Insider has been alerted to another new couple: former The Bachelorette NZ star Lily McManus and New Jersey singer and musician Kelsey Hunter.

McManus posted a picture to Instagram last week from when Hunter visited her in Australia earlier this year, captioned: “Happy birthday baby.”

The relationship is understood to have sparked earlier this year.

Raised on blues and rock ’n’ roll in New Jersey, Hunter lives in New York City and is a regular on the rock scene. She has performed with and opened for artists including Sophie B. Hawkins, Leslie Mendelson, Will Evans and one of her personal favourites, Foreigner.

Australian export McManus burst on to New Zealand screens as the most memorable contestant on The Bachelor NZ in 2017. She then became a familiar reality TV face in the US, appearing on The Bachelor Winter Games in 2018, then was back in New Zealand in 2019 to film Celebrity Treasure Island. In 2020 she starred in The Bachelorette NZ as a duo with Lesina Nakhid-Schuster.

Lesina Nakhid-Schuster and Lily McManus from The Bachelorette New Zealand. Photo / Supplied

Love did blossom for McManus, who gave her final rose to Richie Boyens, and the couple dated for 18 months.

McManus told Woman’s Day in 2023 that she dates women as well as men.

“I don’t talk about that much because when I came off The Bachelorette, I told myself I would have more boundaries around what I share with the public,” she said.

Hunter and McManus enjoyed the winter wonderland of New York at the beginning of this year, before Hunter visited McManus in Sydney in May.

Former Bachelorette NZ star Lily McManus and artist/musician Kelsey Hunter. Photo / @kelseyhunter13

In July they enjoyed a romantic time in Rome before heading to the Italian coast for some fun in the sun.

Last month McManus was Hunter’s date for a wedding in New Jersey, where the couple appeared very much in love.

Party people of the week

Arts Gala

Eight hundred guests gathered at Auckland’s Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre on Friday night to honour eight outstanding artists at the 2026 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureate Awards.

Guests arrived along two pink carpets stretching into Aotea Square, before gathering for a welcome of Hummingbird Coffee espresso martinis, Champagne and canapes.

The Laureates were selected by an independent panel of experts from across the arts and creativity sector. Recipients, actor Anapela Polata’ivao, novelist Catherine Chidgey, artist Emily Karaka, comedian Madeleine Sami, multidisciplinary artist Sriwhana Spong, designer Tyrone Ohia, composer Victoria Kelly and art collective et al, each received $50,000.

Tyrone Ohia, Anapela Polata’ivao, Victoria Kelly, Dame Lynda Topp, Sriwhana Spong, Catherine Chidgey and Madeleine Sami at the Arts Foundation Laureate Awards. Photo / John Rata

Arts Foundation director Jessica Palalagi said the eight artists had built bodies of work that had shaped their fields and enriched New Zealand’s cultural life.

The evening featured KUINI, a dance choreographed by 2026 Springboard recipient Lyncia Muller, and a powerful closing address from 2026 Icon Award recipient Dame Lynda Topp. The celebration continued into the night with DJ Pom and a set from 2023 Laureate Ladi6, with guests filling the dance floor.

The gifts were made possible by Arts Foundation Major Givers: Otahuna Lodge owner Hall Cannon, billionaire philanthropist Jillian Friedlander, Waiwetu Trust’s Joanna Beckett, Foggy Valley Aotearoa’s Liz Aitken, menswear designer Murray Crane and his wife Claudia, Sir Roger Hall and Lady Dayle Mace, My ART’s Sonja and Glenn Hawkins, and the Burr/Tatham Trust created by the late Adrian Burr and Peter Tatham.

Guests included Auckland Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson with her husband, former National Party president Peter Goodfellow, Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick, country singer Tami Neilson, multidisciplinary artist Steven Junil Park, artist Lisa Reihana and broadcaster Miriamo Kamo.

Pelenakeke Brown and Jessica Palalagi at the Arts Foundation Laureate Awards. Photo / John Rata Olivia McGregor and Chlöe Swarbrick at the Arts Foundation Laureate Awards. Photo / John Rata Victoria Kelly and Tami Neilson at the Arts Foundation Laureate Awards. Photo / John Rata Steven Junil Park and Lisa Reihana at the Arts Foundation Laureate Awards. Photo / John Rata Madeleine Sami and Sophie Durham at the Arts Foundation Laureate Awards. Photo / John Rata Murray and Claudia Crane at the Arts Foundation Laureate Awards. Photo / John Rata Sir Roger and Lady Dianne Hall at the Arts Foundation Laureate Awards. Photo / John Rata Taiaroa Royal and Blaise Clotworthy at the Arts Foundation Laureate Awards. Photo / John Rata Tyrone Ohia and Anapela Polata’ivao at the Arts Foundation Laureate Awards. Photo / John Rata

Ricardo Simich has been with the Herald since 2008 where he contributed to The Business Insider. In 2012 he took over Spy at the Herald on Sunday, which has since evolved into Society Insider. The weekly column gives a glimpse into the worlds of the rich and famous.